Forgive me, for I have sinned. It has been six years since my last review of this classic Albany tavern. The good news is that I've learned a lot more about this place over time. Most notably, what are the things to get and what are the things to avoid. Fortunately, I think I've only hit one real stinker over the years and that was the fish fry. My advice is to save that for the fish fry places. Unfortunately, I've watched my beloved torpedo sandwiches diminish from their former glory. The kitchen no longer keeps the sandwiches under the broiler long enough to brown the cheese, but only long enough to melt it. So they are missing a critical element of flavor and texture. I suppose I could be fussy and ask them to make it "well done'. However, I have this thing about going to restaurants, that I want to eat the food they make (not the food I wish they would make). It's complicated. That said, their mozzarella sticks with raspberry sauce is off the charts good. They hand cut these rectangles of salty, delicious cheese, bread them, and fry them to a crisp, melty, salty, cheesy glory. Now, if you think raspberry sauce with this sounds disgusting, you are obviously not from around these parts. This is how we do. And I'll take a moment to explain to you why it's so good (and why it's not gross). Don't think mozzarella sticks with raspberry. Think baked brie en croute with a fruit compote. Because this is just a blue collar version of that. In most people's mind, mozzarella sticks come with an herbed crust. And THAT would be truly disgusting with raspberry sauce. I've tried it. It totally clashes. But at Ralph's, they've been doing this long enough to know to leave the herbs out. This is too much talking. Just get them. I've also come around on Ralph's style of tavern pizza. It's rectangular, with a focaccia like crust, and the edges get nice and crisp. The sauce is zesty with black pepper. This is an entirely different animal from NY style or sicilian pizza. So don't try to compare them. If you can take it on its own terms, it's a solid pie, especially if you order it with pepperoni. Listen, I hate pepperoni, but I love the pepperoni at Ralph's. Theirs is the kind that curls up and collects all that glorious flavorful grease into a pocket of joy. Plus the curled edges get all nice and crispy. Man, I love that. Still, the place is without pretension. Even as I get older, I find I'm often the youngest person in the joint. It's a regional treasure, and I hope they keep going just as they are for a hundred years (although I wouldn't mind if they went back to browning the cheese on the torpedo sandwiches). read more

Fantastic service, even better food, good ambiance you can only get from a local family run establishment. Great selection of food, I can recommend the Veal and Peppers, it was absolutely delicious and the portions were generous. In the old style, entrees come with your choice of pasta, warm fresh Italian bread, and soup or salad. The soups were creative, I got cream of pepperoni, and I don't know how to describe it except if you like soups, and you like pepperoni, you won't be disappointed. Five stars! read more

Amazing food and even better service. A lot of pride going in this place. Pizza is lights out

Lived in the Capital Region for a decade....but strangely mozz sticks weren't my thing then. I only tried them for the first time after I moved away. Passing through I knew I had to try the regional cuisine I had missed out on and I'm so glad I did! These are exceptional fried cheese sticks, greasy and finger licking interesting coating, cheese stretching delicious. Of course the raspberry sauce made them memorable, a sweet and salty combination is up my alley! The bar side of the restaurant is very casual and service is friendly. Parking is easy in the back lot. Would be interested to check out their additional fare another time! read more

See all

Wow very impressed! I love Italian food anyways and Ralph's tavern is fantastic!!! One of my favorite dishes is chicken Parmesan and I've had it at a lot of different restaurants....And tonight was the best chicken Parmesan I've ever had. The ambience is definitely old-school and dated, but the food, & friendly service completely and totally makes up for it! Well worth checking out when you're in Albany!!! **** went to Ralph's again tonight and had my favorite dish chicken Parmesan. The staff is super at Ralph's and very friendly and attentive. The prices couldn't be any cheaper my chicken Parmesan came with a salad and was $14.95! I have to say I was super disappointed with my dinner tonight. My chicken parm was nowhere near as good as the first time I ate here. In fact the chicken Cutlet was one of the worst I've had. Salad was good, bread, pasta and gravy all good but not outstanding. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Thomas, the delivery driver was super friendly! Delivery was earlier than projected which was surprising but very nice. Their shrimp scampi was absolutely outstanding among the best we ever had - anywhere! The chicken parm was great and the pasta that came with it was cooked perfectly. All special food instructions were followed perfectly. The driver respected the all social distancing instructions. Overall an excellent experience! WE had tried Ralph's many years ago and, frankly, were not overly impressed. We are going out of our way to patronize local restaurants during the pandemic so we decided to give Ralph's another try. We were quite pleasantly surprised and we will certainly be ordering food from them again - pandemic or not. read more

Ralph's is a Colonie neighborhood gem. Old school Italian ambiance mixed with top notch services and exquisite Italian food make this one of my favorite restaurants in the area. read more

I had the stuffed mushrooms which were delicious. It's great that you can build your own pasta dish. Cozy environment. Our waitress was super sweet. read more

Diner's, Drive-in and Dives style gem...this qualifies as a dive. I come to these type of places for the comfort food; it's good for the soul. Don't let the 30 year old carpet and dark uninviting decor scare you off. The focus is on the food, so suck it up Buttercup. On Yelp review recs, we tried the double pepperoni square 10 cut pizza. It did not disappoint. It is amazing. Grandma style for sure. Crispy brown crust, but airy and chewy on the inside. The pepperoni was thick and browned enough to char and curl the edges a scosh, like I remember from my favorite childhood pizza. Mozzarella was good quality and had a good ratio to the sauce. I am kinda picky about my pizza and I endorse Ralph's square tavern pie. The service was friendly and we were able to get a table quickly for a busy Saturday late afternoon. The food came out quickly but I was unhappy with their mozzarella sticks. Greasy...puddle of grease on the plate greasy... pretty sure my gallbladder hates me for eating them. At $7.25, no excess grease please. The melba sauce was better than the mozzarella in my opinion as they weren't just super greasy, but I like a thicker, crunchier breading on my mozz sticks, homemade or not. I will be back to get some double pepperoni pizza (or another topping or 7) and I'll explore the menu further. Saw some of their full blown dinners and they looked good. read more

See all

Our first time here and we'll definitely be back. The service was outstanding and the food was amazing. You won't leave here hungry.

Love Ralph's! We stopped after an appointment in Albany my husband used to live in the area and hadn't been here in over 20 years. He used to love the pizza and said the pizza taste the same as he remembered it. Great service, too. We will be back soon. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Pizza, half cheese/half pep/mushroom - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

See all

Three of us decided to order the family style chicken parmesan dinner. Upon calling, the staff was very friendly and they had our food ready in about 25 minutes. The food was good, however, we did not get very much chicken for the "chicken parmesan dinner." It was definitely not enough chicken for a family, however, there was about two pounds of pasta. We were all able to have a rather small portion of chicken with what we were given but we were hoping for a little bit more considering it was a chicken parmesan dinner. The chicken was also a little dry. The bread was warm and fresh and the salad was good. I'm sure if you were to eat dinner in the restaurant and order the chicken parm dinner for one you may get a bigger portion. read more

Haven't been to Ralph's since the new ownership and was expecting the same delicious food that I've had for over 20 years. The service was very friendly but unfortunately the food was not even close to what it was. Obvious cost cutting on the pizza, salad, and mozzarella sticks. The wings were good but still not the same. read more

I was here with a group of fellow Yelpers for a TTTT night. We ordered between the nine of us three different pizzas, two types of wings, fries with two types of gravy, mozzarella sticks, and risotto balls. So, I got to try a large sample of their typical pub fare. And in general, it was very good. Their pizza (as other reviews indicate) seems to be a love/hate proposition. It is a long, narrow pizza with thin crust, no "inner" pieces, and at least four large crust corner pieces. I love corners so this worked well for me, though picking up the pizza to eat it frequently resulted in it flopping and spilling. It tasted wonderful: their sauce was delicious, and their toppings options (including pickled jalapenos and spicy sausage) really elevated the flavor profiles. My wife said she wished the pizza was cooked longer to crisp up the thin crust, though I can confirm as a corner eater that had they done that the corners would have burned. Their wings, especially the lemon pepper wings, came out crispy and flavorful with a strong hit of acid. Some of us thought it was from lemon juice, but others suspected just zest. Their Buffalo wings were also great. Their mozzarella sticks were a different story. Many people rave of them, but I found their odd light breading led to very little flavor outside of the great raspberry melba sauce. If I had not been eating dominating flavors in the pizza beforehand, I might have been able to better appreciate the nuances of the cheese. Their fries were super crispy and battered with something that made them textured and greasy. We ordered both turkey and beef gravy to dip them in and both reminded me of good jarred (oxymoron?) gravy, which I happen to enjoy. They might have been homemade, but they were extremely salty which is reminiscent of processed gravy. On top of fries though they worked really well. The downer for me was the Risotto balls, which as one would expect were fried balls of sloppy risotto. They came with red sauce and cheese and tasted okay, but I don't think the texture pairing worked. If I want risotto I want it nice and creamy. If I want fried food I want it crunchy. I love arancini, and these were not them. Regardless, based on the ton of food we ordered I thought the price was very reasonable. We only ate what would be considered bar food and it was top notch. I cannot speak for their regular menu items. Our waitress was super friendly and helpful. One other thing: on a Thursday night at 7PM it was absolutely packed. I don't know if they take reservations, but if not expect a wait. read more

This used to be the place for wings and pies ,best in town for decades...however the last number of times the wings were pitiful. The pizza went from great to average at best. I would say the help they have now is not good at their jobs and no one is watching quality. If you going to charge me more for food at least make it edible. After decades of eating here we don't water our time anymore. Shame really read more

Great local tavern. Wings and pizza the way to go!!! Service always great! Charming yesterday ambience! read more

See all

What's my problem??? Wait, I have many. Back to that when we have more time. Yelp. Right, OK the food was good, the server was great, and the company was fine. Ralph's is popular, sometimes with a two-hour wait on weekend evenings. The prices are fair and the servings are generous. What more could you want??? Why only 3 stars??? Wait, back up, again, to the food. The pizza is excellent - a thick crust that is still light and crisp, good sauce, not overloaded. The pricing is a little weird so watch it. The hot sandwiches come with a mustardy potato salad with perfectly cooked spuds, nice and creamy, but for an upcharge the battered seasoned fries or the onion rings are great. The California Roast Beef ($8.95) is a big sandwich, lots of meat, Russian dressing and Swiss on grilled rye, but it's the horseradish that makes it special. The Grilled Reuben ($8.95) with Corned Beef (turkey is just wrong) is better than most. Red went for the Haddock ($13.95), broiled with Cajun spices, served up with a baked potato, beautiful broccoli, and a salad - fresh fish, healthy, lovely. However, the extra ($0.50) for sour cream was just petty, but then again, so am I. OK, now we have that behind us, back to my problem: this place is shabby and screaming for a reno. The floors, the walls, the tables, the furniture, the menus, everything is run over, scraped up, torn, kicked in, and crooked, just like the forces of evil after I'm done with them. Hand me a grotty menu and it can take all my powers not to flinch. Zena, Goddess of Fire read more

Ralph's Tavern - Great pizza! - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

New ownership at Ralph's tavern Pizza was great , The meals where the middle of the road .They cleaned up the inside remodeled the place it looks great .. That would be a pizza stop for me next visit for sure . I would recommend stopping bye ... read more

Always a good meal at reasonable price, wait staff very friendly and frequently ask if you need anything

Excellent service and food. Very large menu with lots of options. Burgers, pizza, sandwiches and a whole variety of delicious dinners. They're homemade soups are out of this world. read more

I've been here 3 different times over the past year, and I really wanted to like this place because it's a favorite of some of my family, but it's really not for me. First, the entire place needs a renovation. The outside of the building looks really beat up, and the dining room area desperately needs a face lift. As for the food - today I had a pasta dish and the plate was loaded with oil. Enough that I dumped it off my plate and there was enough where I dumped it to have dipped the bread in two - three times over. In the past I've tried their homemade sauce that was watery, and a sandwich (good) with fries (soggy and flimsy). Perhaps their bar food is where they shine, but if you want a nice entree, pass for a different place. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Alfredo, but with way too much oil - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

This may have been one of the worst takeout orders we have ever gotten. Never again. This is not the Ralphs that we know. I have never gotten a smaller, drier, tougher reuben. EVER. Gross. Also could have been wheat bread..not rye. Cold french fries. Mediocre prime rib, no sour cream that we asked for. Weird caesar salad. Ugh. Terrible and $150 later. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Reuben...maybe.. - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Been steadily ordering from Ralph's during the past few years and it has steadily gotten worse. Food items are made without care, several sides have been forgotten to be included with the delivery. Calling the restaurant directly does not produce agreeable results. "We can make you the fries that we forgot to include with your delivery order, but you need to come to us and pick it up. " Last three delivery orders all had something missing. Done with Ralph's. read more

The pizza taste like school cafeteria pizza i was better off ordering Pizza Hut it was a hot mess this was a personal take out pizza! It took longer than necessary to be delivered! If you want real pizza avoid this place! read more

Ralph's Tavern - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

It was a Saturday 3/18/23 around noon. My wife and myself. Positives, it wasn't busy at all, waitress was great, on top of everything very nice. Rhythm and timing of meal was great. Ralph's 10 cut pizza half pepperoni was great as usual, potato skins cheese and bacon really good. Now the negative, the half order of Alfredo with spaghetti pasta was not good. Came out Luke warm....wayyyy too much garlic, and just heavy cream tossed with the pasta and garlic. Seemed like no cheese or pepper etc. We have had Alfredo ( with spaghetti, or linguine or fettuccine) at many different italian restaurants in the Capital district over the yrs...this by far was the worst (good thing it was only a half order). Now onto the 20 wings hot we ordered. If you know Ralph's wings then you know...I have never had bad wings over 20 yrs going there..some of the best in the area, in my opinion. But.....these wings were either precooked the night before or that morning to save on time and efficiency when ordering, but hurting the quality of Ralph's wings. They were hot (temp) on the outside, but they were not steamy hot, and juicy inside like fresh cooked wings. They had a almost leftover taste, like precooked then redropped in fryer when ordered. I went to college for this field, and have worked in this industry for 10 yrs back in the early and mid 90's, so I know the short cuts restaurant kitchen's do. But Ralph's wings have NEVER tasted like this!! I can get those type of wings from my take out order from my local pizzeria. So this makes me sad if the new ownership views this cooking as ok, or up to standards. It will be a while before I go back and spend $90 with tip (we left our waitress a 22% tip because she was great). It really is a 2 1/2 star review. read more

What a disappointing take out experience. I ordered the food and the man taking my order was pleasant. Upon arrival I went to pay. I asked for sour cream. She said I would have to pay for that. I said that's fine. I asked for utensils. She had knives and spoons. No forks. I asked if I could "borrow" 2 forks and return them after we ate (which I would actually do). $50 worth of takeout and I couldn't get a fork. She said I would have to buy real forks. It was so ridiculous. Got back to the hotel and the food was just ok. The pastas were bland. The chicken franchise sauce was good but the chicken itself was dry. The salad was a little wilted. Maybe it tasted worse bc of my negative first impression. Hostess needs to be trained to be nice and accommodating. Not like she's inconvenienced when I'm asking for basic eating things. I will not be back. Not that they care. read more

We have been going to Ralph's for many years.. Last nite was the worst. The eggplant was terrible..My husband had been getting the halibut. It was OK but was bad on our last visit..Rice pilaf was usually good but that went downhill..Main reason for going is they make good bourbon old fashioned. That is when Le and Cho are making them..Price constantly changes..Would not recommend this place except for drinks. New decor doesn't make up for bad food... read more

Had dinner there with another couple the first thing we encountered was we sat at the bar told the waitress that we will be having dinner we're waiting for another couple to come she got us drinks and never came back once the other couple got there they never access if we wanted to have dinner which we already told them that we did once we got set for dinner our waiter walk by us five times without asking for drinks or anything once we told them that we needed a waiter or waitress the waiter finally comes over takes the order then he brings the salads out before the appetizers and when I asked him why he did that he said because we were busy and that's what we do which is unacceptable because you don't do that. In a nutshell the food was horrible Ross used to be a good place now it's terrible read more

I just landed in Albany from Tampa FL and asked where could I go for the best pizza and wings and was told Ralphs. First the lady at the bar who was supposed to take my order ignored me for 15mins. Then I sat there waiting for 45mins. I ordered a personal pizza, 10 wings, and 6 mozzarella sticks. I finally asked for my food from a guy behind the bar and 3mins later I have all my food. Hope it was worth the wait. poor service. Nice tale to tell my friends back in Tampa! update: I almost chipped a tooth on the chicken wings, the mozzarella sticks were caked with a batter ive never seen, and the pizza was burnt beyond eatable. sorry, really wanted to like this recommendation from the locals. bad service, bad food. maybe because it was superbowl night...whatever the reason, when I visit Albany again I will steer clear from this place. read more

See all

Wow - I eat a lot of homemade Italian food but my first time at Ralph's was a happy find! Arrived late and sat on resturant side - Shannon was the server and she was awesome! A quick look over the menu and I found Veal Parm and stuffed clams ... sign me up. It was excellent! Large portion, but I managed to scarf it all down! Family resturant atmosphere, casual and laid back for sure... the other side of this place is a killer cool neighborhood bar also. Food is solid - wings and veal sorrentino (eggplant layered with veal parm were awesome also (I got delivered to my hotel another night). Don't order through Yelp App however as my order was lost and I waited 1.5 hours before the end delivery service provider GrubHub figured out what happened. Use GrubHub directly - it will save you the issues I had - almost missed last call for delivery because yelp order didn't process. read more

I ordered a sausage burger with peppers, onions and cheese and a baked potato. It came with no peppers or onion and some disgusting looking substance that I guess was supposed to be cheese. The baked potato looked like it was under a heat lamp for a week. Wtf is this ? read more

Ralph's Tavern - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

See all

Just ordered off of Grubhub, what we originally ordered was half chicken Alfredo with spaghetti, chicken wings, and a chicken franchise. Grub hub driver was good, we got none of that and instead got someone else's random order and payed $75. That's outrageous for not getting any of our correct food. So disappointing wouldn't recommend this business at all. Would definitely give zero stars if I could. read more

One of Albany's oldest standing establishments boasting in mozzarella sticks, wings, pizza, and Italian dishes. Having been here a few times over the past decade, it has always had its ups and downs. I don't find their wings particularly sized and juicy nor pizza the best, but the fried mozzarella are serious logs of cheesy goodness. These should be made known to everyone who visits the best appetizer on the menu. And, it should be served with melba sauce only. The hand breaded cheese is not coated in seasonings and is a perfect pair with the raspberry. Is it the number one hand breaded cheese in the area? I'm afraid not, but this will definitely do. The haddock, eggplant parm, and pasta are decent but I wouldn't go out of my way for them. My least favorite though....are their cream soups. Never would I ever again, because if they were made in house, I am utterly disappointed...because there are gelatinous clumps spoon by spoon. Service is also meh, as they are likely busy at both the bar area and table seating...trying to handle too much. Coming back to devour the mozzarella and the pizza would be the best bet! read more

Great chicken wings, drinks and pizza! Can't go wrong with a burger and mozzarella sticks too!

8 Oz. Bleu Cheese BurgerBuffalo WingsChicken SorrentoEggplant ParmFried ClamsPrime RibPersonal Pizza

Three strikes, you're out. How hard is it to get an order right? Well, step up to the plate and find out!! Ordered bacon cheeseburgers and were surprised we were asked how we like them cooked. Both medium rare. One with one kind of cheese and fries. The other, another kind of cheese, no tomato, with fries. Strike one - they arrive!! One with the wrong cheese and onion rings, the other with no onion. Server notices and takes them back. Strike two - Still one with wrong cheese and neither had onions this time. Server notices and takes them back. Strike three - Seems right this time. Oh, wait. Still no onion. Server brings a few slivers of onion and leaves. Oh, well. Cut into the burger - well done, not medium rare. Not saying a word at this point. Burger itself was bland. Bacon had zero flavor, and neither did the cheese. Fries did, though. Grease. Yeah, best to be avoided. read more

All the stars go to the mozz sticks. Oh baby! I've never had a more salty, delicious bite of homemade mozzarella stick in my life. Could I survive on this? Quite possibly. The batter is merely non existent, more like a crusting of some light, very fine bread crumbs. And Albany... Melba sauce!? I'm into it -- it's like a slum version of brie en crute. The sweet and salty combo is where it's at! Ralph's itself had a homey vibe. At lunch time, we were the youngest folks there. But the staff and ambience was welcoming! Being from Rochester, it mimics the vibe of our Italian American restaurants. Checked tablecloths, simple decor, wood paneled walls, etc. For my lunch entree, I had the tuna club... but it didn't come with bacon. I thought that was the distinctive factor that made a sandwich "club" so I was bummed I missed out on that. So know to specify if you want. Comes with chips and a pickle. Great for a classic tavern experience in the Capital region. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Mozz sticks with melba sauce & marinara - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Wow wow wow! We were visiting from California and didn't know where to eat. Someone recommended Ralph's. We were slightly hesitant but gave it a shot anyway. The service was great and the food was exceptional. We went at 430 and couldn't believe how busy it was! And the price?! Out of this world. There was not one bad thing we could say about this place. HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Everything from the freshly made soup, the hot fresh out of the oven bread, to the main courses. 5 stars! read more

See all

I do not recommend ordering from Ralph's. I ordered take out last a night for myself and my daughter. I ordered a chef salad. It came with a hard boiled egg that looked like it had fallen on the floor or had been prepared on a dirty surface. When I called to speak to the owner he blamed the door dash driver immediately. The bag the food came in was tied and knotted shut and not tampered with. The salad looked as it would have just been prepared and not tampered with. The owner tried to tell me it was because of the door dash driver using their red bags for devil wry. He demanded I have door dash send my food back to him, clearly something they wouldn't do. I told him I would be happy to take pictures and send them to him and he provided me with the restraints email address. There was absolutely zero response to my email. We order from them quite regularly and to have had this experience is pretty upsetting. I'm all about giving the business a chance to rectify a situation before giving them negative reviews. It was unbelievable how little the owner cared and how quickly he blamed someone else for the restaurants short coming. There is hair and filth all over the egg. My camera stinks so you have to click the picture to see it. I won't be ordering from there again. Also after looking their reviews elsewhere I have to wonder why I ordered from there to begin with. Seems this owner has zero concern for his customers as shown by previous feedback from other customers. Edited to add: I called and sent an email on Friday and then a follow up email on Saturday. I just got an email back. I can't say if it's because word got back that I put up reviews or if I simply didn't give them enough time over a weekend to respond. I did just receive an email from the owner in regard to this. I personally think it's a long turn around time for a response but at any rate they are offering to make it up to me, apologized and said they would make sure it doesn't happen again. All the things I wanted them to do when I contacted them. Happy to see a return email like this from them. I will say we have ordered from them often with very few problems, my issue was more so the response I received and not the fact that things happens in a busy kitchen. No place is perfect. I just wanted an apology and accountability which I received. read more

See all

Local italian place. Packed on a Tuesday. Ordered the Linguine with white clam sauce.im glad they let u order only half since i cant barely finish the half even though it is very good. The clams taste fresh and tasty. The waitress is very nice. The price is reasonable. read more

Ralph's Tavern - 1/2 order of linguine with white clam sauce with 3 pcs of clam $10 - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York